


For Just This Moment Lost in Time

by BurningWind



Category: Canadian Universities
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25147852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurningWind/pseuds/BurningWind
Summary: Tor, an Engineering student at the top-ranked Canadian University, must learn to balance his prejudice and his horniness when he encounters Walt, a suave, sexy individual from the opposite camp... the camp of Waterloo.
Relationships: University of Toronto/University of Waterloo
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	For Just This Moment Lost in Time

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Ryan for beta-reading and providing suggestions!
> 
> Fic name and chapter names are from the song: The Edge of Dawn from Fire Emblem: Three Houses :D

Tor lets out a tired sound, halfway between a grunt and a hiss, as he fumbles through his backpack. Had he forgotten his problem set at Chestnut again? It would be the _second_ time this semester, and his CIV TA never took late submissions. At least he could teach… wait, never mind.

He tries removing the crumpled stacks of papers and notebooks, but pulling out is not his specialty, and soon the common room floor is flooded with his failed quizzes and doodles from lectures. He glances at his watch – _oh no, UofT time has started_ – and summons enough energy for one more futile search.

Nope, nothing. Tor leans back, almost bumping his head on a sofa. He has a sudden urge to skip tutorial, but dismisses it quickly. His best friends, Bryan and Allee, would rat him out for sure. _That said, there’s no need to be on time. The day’s almost over anyway; I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if I go “see the sights” at Haultaine for a bit…_

That idea is dismissed even quicker. Somehow, the thought of a recreational visit to Haultaine disgusts him more than CIV tutorial. Sighing, he walks out of Bahen to go to tutorial. But first, he takes a quick detour to the Cum House, also known as the Cumberland House to the two people who have ever walked inside. He’s just about to start the usual graffiti when _something_ catches his eye. And that _something_ is very shiny, and very gold.

Oh. The Waterloo logo. Or, as his friend Talia calls it, the “Water Emblem.” He’s not quite sure why it has that name; the lions emblazoned on it are so fierce, so majestic, and so… wait. Hold up. _This is blasphemy… Waterloo is the enemy, and any respectable Torontonian will die on that hill. Besides, what would Bryan say if he heard me thinking this? Probably call me a virgin, which is so untrue considering I’ve been in a long term relationship with my hand._ _Though, he probably screws geese in his own time… or his cousins._

Tor immediately snaps, turning in the other direction and jogging towards Galbraith. Of course, he arrives within a minute, but just before entering, he can’t help but turn around for a moment. Just to, you know, admire Bahen’s wonderful design. There’s nothing wrong with admiring art for a bit, he decides, and it’s better than looking at inane propaganda. What is that logo even doing near the Cum House? It’s not like Waterloo students know the meaning of the word _cum_.

Tor glances at his wristwatch once more: 4:20 PM. Realizing how late he is, and suddenly actually caring, Tor blazes over to the tutorial room, only slowing his pace to enter quietly. Luckily, his TA, Nicholas, does not notice, and continues his attempt at teaching something about concrete that will never be helpful. Seating himself besides Bryan and Allee, Tor whips out his CIV notebook and starts doodling.

“Pay attention Tor! This is not the _moment_ to draw,” Allee chides, gleefully cackling to herself at the pun she thinks is clever.

“Nicholas was just telling us this awesome story. There was this guy who built a bridge, and then the bridge fell down. So he went home and then just…” Bryan says.

“Died?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“Well, it’s because _I_ believe in a higher order of things. Somewhere, out there, there is something, some _force_ , some _entity_ , that doles out justice and retribution for those who have suffered…”. Tor glances over to his thesaurus, conveniently open on his phone, before continuing. “…below the belt? Uh, ok. Given this premise, it is reasonable to conclude that–”

“Devin already told you the story?”

“Uh yeah,” Tor grins at Bryan, who simply rolls his eyes and shrugs before turning to the blackboard. And somehow, Nicholas has still not taught anything of value yet. Figures.

The rest of tutorial goes smoother than expected. Tor’s doodle, starting as a hodgepodge collection of scribbles and dots, eventually undergoes a non-linear transformation, turning into an _utterly sexy_ drawing of Lord Farquaad. Tor doesn’t usually get excited over a drawing, but this one makes even him feel a bit hot and bothered. And judging by the look Allee gives him, he has almost been forgiven for the sin of not paying attention.

The trio emerge from Galbraith together, ready to walk over to Chestnut. But before they head off, Allee mentions needing to use the ladies’ room, and the boys agree to meet her in front of Bahen. Tor tries to contain his curiosity, but fails miserably as he blurts:

“Hey Bryan, why is there a Waterloo logo next to the Cum House?”

Bryan gives him a funny look, his small eyebrows furled and head tilted sideways. “Oh, that’s because there’s a Waterloo crossover event on Monday. Maybe you should go. You’ll probably be able to find a fellow virgin there.”

“Wha – HEY! I am _not_ a virgin, for your info. I’ve had sex with –”

“Body pillows don’t count.” And before Tor can interrupt, “and neither does your brother.”

Tor is half-flushing, half-fuming. He can never quite tell why Bryan makes so many jokes about him and Rayson. But one thing is for sure: _they really rustle his jimmies_. He prides himself on being an alpha; why can’t people see this?

“At least I’m not dating someone out of pity,” Tor says. If Bryan wants to make this personal…

“You take that back right now or I _swear_ to Father Concrete, I will shove my set square in a place even your first boyfriend will never reach.”

Tor instinctively takes a step back, before activating his defense mode, the one he uses when reminding people about the top ranked school in Canada. “I can get a date whenever I want. And that, unlike your sexual escapades, is a rigorous fact.”  
  


“Fine then! Why don’t you act like the pretentious mathematician you are and prove it! Ask somebody out _right now_ , and we’ll see if he is interested.”

“Uhhhh ok.” Tor freezes up. Who to ask? He could try to make this into a joke and ask Bryan, but then he would lose the bet. Maybe one of Talia’s guy friends, if any are around? Dating a jock would be pretty neat, though less of an intellectual adventure than desired. Oh wait, he could pull a real big brain move and ask _himself_ out.

But before he can do that, something – or _someone_ , rather – catches his eye. It’s a brief flash of dark blue and black, but it’s rather distinctive. Tor looks over to the brown food truck and _voila_. He sees a man, and _hoo boy_ has Lord Farquaad become irrelevant. This man – this _Adonis_ – has a lean, but muscular build with a firm, yet welcoming face. Short streams of brown hair cross his head, combed to utter perfection. And those brown eyes, they seem to invite him in such a subtle and elegant manner. His nose is a bit big, sure, but somehow the guy manages to make it look cute.

Tor suddenly starts to feel a bit jittery, and Bryan smirks upon seeing it. “Well,” his friend goads, “you should find someone to ask out. Unless you’re willing to admit something?”

“Right, I’ll ask someone out as _soon_ as I see a guy.” Hopefully he managed to turn his eyes away quickly enough, and Bryan never noticed…

“There’s one right by the food truck. In fact, I _know_ this guy, and I _know_ he happens to be single.”

“WAIT YOU DO?” Tor shouts. Oh. Now Adonis is looking at him. Great. Bryan continues to laugh like a maniac, and Allee, who has just caught up, looks very confused.

“What’s Tor doing?” she asks.

“Oh, he’s just about to go ask out my friend Walt. Go on.” As if to encourage him, Bryan gives a small shove to his best friend. And wait, why is Adonis, or Walt, approaching him?

“Heya, Bryan! It’s been a while. How you doin?”

“I’m quite alright,” Bryan says, laughing. “I just wanted to introduce you to Tor, my best friend. He was hoping to ask something. Isn’t that right, Tor?”

That smirk. That absolutely _evil_ smirk on Bryan’s face is the last straw. Tor gathers up the self-confidence that had left after his first calc midterm, and speaks up.

“UmwillyougooutwithmesorryI’mnotgoodathits.”

Oh no. To his horror, Walt looks amused. “Sorry, what was that? Couldn’t quite hear you besides the hmm-mm-muh.”

Tor gathers his breath and tries again. “What I was gonna say was... Walt, I think you’re… umreallycute. Will you go out with me?”

“Sure.”

“Wait what?”

“You heard me,” Walt says, his voice taking on a suave tone. “I don’t usually go out with people I’ve just met, though, so perhaps we should at least grab food first.”

Now Tor’s face is redder than his blood. “Ah, yeah, maybe that might just be a good idea… maybe.”

“You said maybe twice,” Bryan interjects, ribbing him.

“Bryan! Stop embarrassing him in front of his future _boyfriend_ ,” Allee says. “You already have Cheeky to tease.”

“He’s more fun to poke, though.”

“If you’d like, you and Cheeky can come with us,” Tor says. “We can make it, say, a _double date_.”

Walt appears quite surprised by the show of confidence, but quickly reverts to a grin. He moves a hand through his hair (something Farquaad never did…) and offers his hand.

“Here. Give me your phone. I’ll put my number in, and we can go for a bite sometime.”

“What are we biting?” Tor asks, and Walt blushes. _Oh. Oh no. Tor, why did you have to say it like that, you idiot, now you’ll die alone and helpless. Sigh._

But Walt has already regained composure. Looking Tor directly in the eyes, he says, “Not sure, but you can get the first bite if you’d like that.”

Allee and Bryan are dying of laughter in the background. And Tor is just incredulously trying to process what just happened, but he comes up short. _Praxis did not prepare me for this. Send help._ _Dating cute guys should REALLY be a core competency._

===

Later that night, Tor lies on his bed – or perhaps his “rock” would be the better descriptor. Turning about idly, he tries to process the day’s events, but _surprisingly_ his brain is utter mush. _Ok, so I woke up, went to class, and now have a maybe-boyfriend-but-not-really? Either the contact cement went to my brain, or I’m the luckiest guy alive. Or maybe – oh shit._

His inner EngSci awakens as he realizes what might have happened. He flips out his phone, furiously taps in his password, and calls Bryan.

“Tor, who the hell calls people in 2020?” Bryan says, evidently caught off-guard.

“How much? Tell me _now_.”

“What are you talking about” –”

“How much did you pay him? Answer me!”

“Who?” To Tor’s dismay, Bryan seems genuinely confused.

“Walt, obviously. Come on, how stupid do you think I am? You paid him to go out with me! It was just too convenient that you made me do that bet at the same time that this cute guy you just _happened_ to know was there right at that time. Nobody would ever say yes to me otherwise.”

Bryan is silent. Seconds pass, though it feels more like a practical demo of time dilation. Eventually, Bryan speaks, voice hushed and strained: “Tor.”

“What is it?”

“Do you hate me?”

“I don’t know, Bryan. What you did, it… I feel used.”

“Listen. You’re only half right. I did set you two up to meet.” And before Tor could interrupt: “But I would _never_ pay someone to date you. Maybe Devin or Talia would, but not me. You’re my best friend, Tor, or at least I thought you were.”

“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that. But I’m still angry.”

“Walt is a lonely guy, just like you. I talk about you to him. A lot. Did you know that?”

“No, but so what?”

“So he was interested in meeting you. Apparently he looked you up on Insta and thought you were hilarious. He asked _me_ to set you two to meet because he was _too freaking shy_ to approach you online.”

“You’re joking. You have to be joking.”

A sigh, and then a deep breath. “Of course not. Remember when we were kids and your jokes scared away that girl I liked? I don’t even remember anything but her name now, but what I’ll never forget is how painful it was.”

“Ok, you’re not joking. So Walt actually wanted to meet me?”

“Yes. I probably shouldn’t have set it up like that, I know how you are… but I also know how he is. And I just want you to be happy, Tor. You’re always so darn _sad_ when you see Cheeky, and I just feel so guilty about it.”

“Bryan, please.”

“No, listen to me. I know Walt. He’s one of the nicest guys I know, so _please_ don’t mess this up. This is your chance to show him what a great guy you are. And I don’t care if you hate me, but please give him a chance.”

“Ok, I’ll give it a go.” He couldn’t see his best friend’s face, but Tor just knew he had his signature Goofy-on-crack grin. “But don’t lie to me.”

“About what?”

“About not caring if I hate you. I’m really sorry I said that. Sometimes it just feels like the world itself hates me. The thought of this loser being with a guy that criminally cute… it just felt wrong. But I’ll never hate you, no matter what you do or say to me.”

“Ok, T. Now please don’t get mad at me, but I do have one other thing I didn’t mention, and it’s a _wee_ bit important.”

“I don’t like how that sounds.”

“Hopefully you are ok with a sort-of-long-distance-ish thing.”

“If you’re about to tell me he’s from Quebec, then sorry but I have to break it off right here.”

“Uh no, it’s even worse. He’s here in town for the event on Monday.”

“Which ev- oh.”

Sometimes in Tor’s life, it feels like bombs are dropped on him at the worst moments. Like that one time he aced a test, but actually failed and got the wrong paper. Or that one time he found a really hot sex tape that apparently starred his uncle. Or even that one time he was singing his favourite Lady Gaga song in the shower… until he realized he was not alone in the locker room.

But Tor has _never_ felt this strange mixture of embarrassment, horror, shame, and horniness before. He somehow managed to be dating someone from the other camp. Someone who should have different ideals, who should hate him on principle. He’s dating…

“He’s a Waterloo student, isn’t he?”

Bryan hangs up without a word (well, Tor could hear a chuckle or two), and Tor is left alone, on his rock, wondering where he went wrong.


End file.
